Date: July 17, 2023
Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA
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Show Recap —
The announcers ran down tonight’s card. Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick spat out nicknames for every wrestler as they did. The Hellions from Hades Judgment Day, the cantankerous Kevin Owens, the spirited Sami Zayn, the menacing Gunther, the cheeky Chelsea Green, the self-aggrandizing Sonya Deville, the strong-willed Raquel Rodriguez, and the bubbly Liv Morgan.
I know they often do this sort of thing, but it felt like a new edict was handed down and it sounded completely unnatural.
Cody Rhodes / Brock Lesnar segment
Cody Rhodes entered to a big reaction and “welcome home” chants. Rhodes said we don’t need to talk — Brock Lesnar can enter right now and accept his SummerSlam challenge. Lesnar didn’t enter and Rhodes wasn’t surprised. Rhodes said Lesnar could come at 9pm or 10pm or at the end of the night but no matter what, Rhodes would still be in the ring waiting for him.
Rhodes became emotional upon mentioning that his mother Michelle was in the front row. Rhodes said that his catchphrase wasn’t something like “Let’s get funky like a monkey” for a reason. Rhodes mentioned training with the Nightmare Family and said the person who made him a fighter was a fighter herself. He encouraged the fans to applaud Michelle.
Rhodes said his relationship with Lesnar was complicated and only two words could describe it right: “Hard times.” Rhodes said tonight would not be hard times in front of his people, it would be hard times for Lesnar. The crowd cheered.
Rhodes hugged his family in the front row when Lesnar’s music hit. Rhodes awaited Lesnar but he still didn’t show. As Rhodes got closer to the stage, Lesnar’s music hit again but he still didn’t appear.
Rhodes marched to the back and you could hear the sound of a steel chair. Lesnar chucked Rhodes back down the ramp and hit him repeatedly with the chair.
Lesnar hoisted Rhodes on his shoulders and gave him an F5 in front of his mother. Lesnar also put him in a Kimura as Michelle yelled at Lesnar. Lesnar put him in the Kimura one more time in the ring (but didn’t hold on long enough to break the arm again).
Lesnar said, “Challenge accepted. I’ll see you at SummerSlam, bitch.” The crowd booed as Lesnar left.
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Lesnar hit Rhodes with a chair one more time during the commercial break.
Non-title match: Intercontinental Champion Gunther defeated Matt Riddle (8:12)
Riddle leaped off the ring steps but Gunther chopped him out of mid-air and hit a body slam. Riddle fought back after a break and they exchanged strikes until Riddle hit an exploder suplex.
Gunther responded with chops and Riddle came back with kicks to the chest. Gunther chopped him again, hit a German suplex and clothesline for a nearfall. Riddle back with kicks and hit a sliding knee to the back of the head for two.
Riddle went for a floating bro but Gunther got his knees up. Gunther followed with a dropkick and powerbomb for the pinfall win. Fun stuff for the time they had.
— Gunther stood on the announce table as the crowd booed. He said they can boo all they want but this was the best night of their lives because they came here to see the greatest IC champion of all time. Gunther said Riddle was done and he was building a legacy. Drew McIntyre could ride his coattails too but he will fall like everyone else to the ring general.
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Jackie Redmond interviewed Rodriguez and Morgan. Morgan knew that Green and Deville didn’t follow the rules but they’d be ready. Morgan said they wouldn’t back down from anyone.
Rhea Ripley appeared and got in Rodriguez’s face. (The crowd popped for her appearance.) Rodriguez said they wouldn’t back down to her, either. Morgan tried to chim in so Ripley headbutted her.
Rodriguez attacked Ripley and they brawled as officials tried to separate them. The brawl ended when Ripley kicked Raquel’s leg out of her leg. Morgan and officials checked on Rodriguez.
— Judgment Day, with Ripley, entered for the next segment. Patrick said the mood in Atlanta has taken a sinister turn with the appearance of this villainous quartet.
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Judgment Day segment
Ripley said Judgment Day were stronger than ever and they don’t just run Raw, they dominate it. Ripley called herself unbeatable as champion and said Finn Bálor and Damian Priest would soon become world champions. Ripley said Dominik Mysterio would become NXT North American Champion tomorrow.
The crowd loudly booed as Dom said he would beat Wes Lee on NXT. Priest tried to talk for him so the crowd booed over his promo too. Priest held up his briefcase and said he would become world champion. Bálor gave him a look but Priest told him to take it easy because Bálor still had the first shot. Bálor told Priest, “I love you, bro.”
Bálor said his issues with Seth Rollins would never be over until he beat him for the title. Dom tried to put over Bálor but the crowd booed again.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens interrupted. Zayn asked the Atlanta crowd if they paid their hard-earned money to hear Dom talk. They booed. He asked if they paid money to see someone shut Dom’s mouth. They cheered. Zayn said they would take on Dom and Priest tonight and shut Dom’s mouth for good.
Priest said they’ve been focused on individual titles but told Dom the tag titles would look great on them. Priest told them to put the titles on the line. Zayn considered it as the crowd chanted Yes.
Owens appeared annoyed so Zayn let him speak. The crowd chanted for Owens. Owens fired up and said he wanted to stun Priest and put his fist through Dom’s stupid face. Owens accepted.
(Priest held up his briefcase and Owens yelled, off the mic, that no one cared about the briefcase because it didn’t matter right now.)
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A trainer told Adam Pearce that Rodriguez was technically cleared but he wanted to get scans. Rodriguez said no because the last time this happened, they had to give up the belts. Pearce was concerned and understood the trainer’s recommendation but made the title match official.
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Both teams entered before a break and they went to another break after they entered the ring.
[SECOND HOUR]
Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green defeated Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships (5:13)
Deville applied a half crab on Rodriguez’s injured knee and held the hold a long time before Morgan finally broke it up. Morgan tagged in and hit Green with a Codebreaker and Oblivion but Deville just barely broke up the cover with a knee strike.
Deville chop-blocked Rodriguez outside the ring before giving Morgan a cheap shot with the referee’s back turned. Green hit an Unprettier (if you can call it that) for a close nearfall.
Morgan tried fighting off both women on her own but the Green hit another Unprettier and Deville followed with a running knee strike for the pinfall win. Deville and Green are the new champs.
Fireworks went off as Deville and Green posed with the belts.
Morgan sat with Rodriguez as someone checked on her leg.
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Byron Saxton congratulated the new champs but added that it was almost a two-on-one match. Deville dismissed Rodriguez’s fake injury while Green tried to thank everyone she could think of including her fans, her parents, her sister, and Janine from the tanning salon.
There was a video package of Jey Uso’s segment from Smackdown. Roman Reigns will be on this week’s Smackdown and they’re pushing hard that it’s on FS1.
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Seth Rollins sit-down interview
Saxton wanted to know Seth Rollins’ plans for the world title after hearing from Bálor. Rollins said the World Heavyweight Championship deserved a marquee match at SummerSlam and mentioned Bálor, Priest, McIntyre, Gunther and Owens as potential challengers.
Bálor interrupted before Rollins could name more challengers. Rollins told Saxton he could leave and Bálor sat in his chair. Bálor said the line started with him and their issues weren’t over. Bálor told Rollins to talk to Pearce and make the match.
Rollins told Bálor to stop living in the past. Bálor said he wasn’t living in the past, he was living in the chaos, and he would do to Rollins what Rollins did to him. Bálor would take his title, laugh in his face, and alter his career forever.
Rollins told Bálor that the world title was about more than Bálor’s personal vendetta. It was bigger than both of them. Rollins said they didn’t need a match to settle the score and they could finish things right now. Rollins told Bálor to take a shot or get out of his face.
Bálor said, “Cool,” and left. Rollins took off his mic and got ready to leave but Bálor chucked a chair in his face and put the boots to him. Bálor told Rollins to make the match.
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The Viking Rules match is next. Patrick said, “Coming up next, a match with no rules — Viking Rules,” and Graves responded, “And when you say, ‘Viking Rules’, let’s be honest, there are no rules!”
Titus O’Neil joined commentary for the match. Graves said O’Neil could provide input because he knows all about the Viking Raiders and Viking Rules. O’Neil informed him that he only ever had regular matches against them.
Viking Rules Match: Viking Raiders (w/Valhalla) defeated Alpha Academy (w/Maxxine Dupri) (10:27)
The front section of a Viking boat was connected to the ring and there were shields attached to the ring ropes. Otis yelled, “Get the tables” at Gable but he was stopped by Erik. Ivar tried a springboard crossbody but Otis caught him and hit a powerslam, which was awesome.
They came back from break and Graves let us know for the 80th time that this was a Viking Rules match which meant there were no rules.
Ivar hit Otis with a moonsault but Gable broke up the cover with a moonsault of his own. Gable followed with a damn impressive German suplex on Ivar but Erik broke up the cover. The crowd was really into all of this.
Erik and Gable exchanged strikes until Gable hit an exploder suplex and a diving headbutt but Valhalla broke up the cover. Maxxine took her out with a flying crossbody.
Gable put the letterman jacket on Dupri and she yelled, “Thank you!” but Valhalla speared her through a corner table. The Raiders drove Gable into some shields.
Otis ran over both Raiders, slammed Ivar and gave Erik a fallaway slam. Otis hit Ivar with a Caterpillar but Valhalla slapped him as he climbed the ropes. The Raiders brought down Otis with a double powerbomb off the middle rope for the pinfall win.
This was a fun match that went as well as it could have and the crowd was into it. Alpha Academy winning probably would’ve gotten a really big pop.
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Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross (0:20)
Baszler won immediately by submission with Kirifuda Clutch.
— Ronda Rousey proclaimed, “And the crowd goes mild!” after the match. Rousey stood in the upper deck and cut a promo.
Rousey said she could have taken the long way through the door in WWE — or go through the backdoor by earning a historic Olympic medal in judo and having an earth-shattering UFC career. She got thrown into the wolves by being put into a WWE ring with no training and developed a Hall of Fame career in just a year.
She did everything in a fraction of the time that it took Baszler and she still eclipsed her in everything. Rousey called herself the greatest combat sports athlete of all time and the crowd booed. Rousey said Baszler was just a knock-off version of her.
Baszler said she was a better Ronda Rousey in the ring than the real Ronda Rousey. Baszler challenged her to a fight right now. Rousey said no and put her legs up.
Baszler went into the crowd and was going to go after her but Rousey got up and said she would do Baszler a favour and finally get her booked on SummerSlam. Rousey said, “I’ll see you in Motor City, bitch,” and she left.
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Redmond interviewed Ricochet. Ricochet said Logan Paul thinks he’s a joke but he lives in his own world of social media. In this world of WWE, Logan was a joke. Ricochet said Paul wanted a fight but when they got into it last week, Paul was the one who was laid out. Ricochet challenged him to show up on Raw next week in Tampa where he could hurt him where it hurts — his ego.
[THIRD HOUR]
Miz TV with Becky Lynch
Miz gloated about his win over Tommaso Ciampa and proclaimed that he was back. He spoke about competing in a celebrity golf tournament alongside Charles Barkley, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Miles Teller, and the most overpaid person in sports, Pat McAfee. He said the only person more overpaid was Trey Young (Atlanta Hawks).
Miz introduced Becky Lynch and asked her what it was like to sit next to a winner. Miz noted her recent losses to Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark and at Money in the Bank. Miz wondered if she had lost a step.
Lynch stood up and chucked both chairs out of the ring. She got in Miz’s face and said she may have lost titles and friends and maybe her mind but she has not lost a step. Lynch knew how his stupid little show worked and knew she wasn’t the only guest so she told Miz to get Stratus out here before she took his tiny balls.
Stratus and Stark entered but Lynch spoke over her music and repeatedly demanded a rematch. Stratus called Lynch a child and wondered if it was Roux in the ring. Lynch told Stratus to keep her daughter’s name out of her mouth. Stratus said she already beat her and declined a rematch. Stratus noted that Lynch lost to her and lost at MITB and lost to Stark, so they were done with her.
Stratus said Miz TV was the perfect platform for Lynch to finally say, “Thank you, Trish.” Lynch said Stratus wanted to return to WWE so Lynch brought her back. Lynch told her the issues she was having and Stratus attacked her when she was at her lowest because she knew she couldn’t take her at her strongest.
Lynch challenged her with a rematch without Stark by her side. Lynch mocked her and wondered if she was all about hair flips and her Instagram.
Stratus accepted a rematch under a few conditions. First, Lynch would have to beat Stark. Lynch said, “Done.” Stratus said when Stark beat her, Lynch would have to get on her knees and say, “Thank you, Trish.” Lynch accepted. Stratus also wanted Lynch to tattoo the phrase across her chest.
They abruptly attacked Lynch but she fought them off and ripped off Stratus’ face mask. Lynch hit her in the nose, put on the face mask herself, and headbutted Stark.
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Bronson Reed defeated Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification (7:32)
Reed took control but Nakamura fought back after a break. Reed responded with a Death Valley Driver for two. The crowd chanted for Nakamura who hit strikes and a knee strike off the ropes for two. Nakamura set up for Kinshasa but Reed flattened him with a crossbody.
Ciampa suddenly hit the ring and attacked Reed for the DQ. (Reed cost Ciampa his match against Miz.)
— Ciampa seemed apologetic to Nakamura but Nakamura dropped him with a kick to the chin. The crowd actually cheered because he was understandably upset.
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Saxton interviewed Nakamura who said, “I’m tired of everybody getting involved in my business.” Saxton asked about him attacking Ciampa. Nakamura rolled his eyes, stood up, and yelled, “Byron! I said I’m tired of everybody getting involved in my business!” Nakamura left.
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Next week on Raw in Tampa:
Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark Gunther and Drew McIntyre face-to-face Logan Paul appears
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(There was a wide shot during the main event showing the sold-out crowd of about 13,500 — according to Kevin Patrick.)
After they introduced both teams for the main event, Rollins appeared out of nowhere and took out Bálor with a suicide dive. Rollins hammered away and Bálor ran to the back.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) to retain the Tag Team Championships (15:30)
Owens and Zayn had their way with Dom until Zayn got distracted by Ripley. Dom hit Zayn with a baseball slide and Priest chokeslammed him onto the apron.
The crowd cheered on Zayn after a break and he eventually made a (very) hot tag to Owens who knocked Dom and Priest out of the ring. Owens clotheslined both men outside the ring and gave Priest a senton. Owens also hit Dom with a frog splash off the apron.
Owens hit Priest with a cannonball but Priest got his knees up on a senton bomb attempt. Dom followed with a frog splash but Zayn broke up the cover. Zayn dumped Priest from the ring before Dom dumped Zayn.
The crowd chanted “Dom you suck” moments before Owens hit him with a pop-up powerbomb but Priest broke up the cover. Zayn tagged in and hit Priest with a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Zayn went to the top as the crowd chanted “Olé” but Priest cut him off and hit a Frankensteiner for two.
Dom made a blind tag and dropkicked Zayn into the middle rope. Zayn avoided a 619 and chucked Dom from the ring. Owens wiped out Priest with a dive off the apron and Zayn wiped out Dom with a flip dive.
Ripley drove Owens into the steel steps and Zayn pointed it out to the referee. Priest attacked Zayn with the ref’s back turned and Dom put him in a schoolboy for a nearfall.
Ripley yelled at the referee when Liv Morgan ran out and drove her into the timekeeper’s area.
Owens dropped Priest with a stunner and Zayn hit Dom with Helluva Kick for the pinfall win.
This was an insanely hot match.
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